elcock



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. ELOOOK.

GATE.

No. 358,653. Patented Mar. 1, 1887.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,.

' J. ELOOOK.

GATE. No. 358,653. Patented Mar. 1, 1887.

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JOSEPH ELCOCK, OF MEOHANICSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 358,653, dated ltfiarcll 1, 185.7.

Application filed November 20, 1886. Serial No. 219,496. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH ELoooK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mechanicsburg,in the county of Cumberland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Gates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its objects to improve the construction of swinging gates; to provide novel means for supporting a gate and per mitting it to easily swing open and shut; to provide novel means for automatically closing the gate when opened and released by the person passing through the gateway; to provide novel means for enabling a person on horseback to conveniently open a gate and pass through the gateway without dismounting, and to provide novel means for raising the outer ends of a centrally-hung swinging gate, so that the gate can be easily opened in snowy weather. These objects I accomplish in the manner and by the construction and combination of devices hereinafter described and claimed, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a gate hung centrallybetween its ends and embodying my Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line :10 m, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a sideelevation showing a gate hung at one end according to my invention; Fig. 4, a sectional elevation of Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a sectional view on the line y y, Fig. 3; Fig. 6, a detail plan view of the lower stationary bearing-plate for sup porting the gate, showing the convoluted spring; Fig. 7, a detail inside plan view of the upper rotary disk to which the gate-post is secured; Fig. 8, aview similar to Fig. 6, showing a modification of the invention.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now describe the same in detail, referring first to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, in which The numeral 1 indicates a circular bearingplate of metal mounted on the upper end of metal posts 2, that are to be sunk in the ground so that the plate will lie slightly above the surface of the latter, said plate being secured to the underground metal posts by headed bolts 3, passing through the plate and the heads on The bearing-plate is provided at its center with an orifice, 4, for the passage of disk 10 is provided with a central orifice, 1].,

and a central hub, 12, which sits in the socket 6 of the lower bearing-plate, and said disk is also provided with two concentric flanges, 13 and 14, resting on the flanges of the bearingplate. The center bolt or pin, 5, is provided with ahead at its lower end and a slot at its upper end, and said pin extends through the orifices of the bearing-plate and disk, and is secured by a wedge,16, passing through the slot of the pin and bearing against a washer resting upon the top surface of the rotary disk in such manner that the bearingplate and disk can be tightened together to compensate for wear and prevent loose play of the parts by tight ening up the wedge.

The gate-post is rigidly secured to the rotary disk, and, as here shown, this gate-post comprises two standards, 17, which converge together at their upper ends, where they are secured by a transverse bolt, 18. The lower ends of these standards are provided with attached metal plates 19, secured by bolts 20, and having flanges or feet 21 at their lower ends, which are secured to the rotary disk by bolts 22. The upper end of the post is provided at each side with a lateral perforated lug, 23, and to the rotary disk are secured two inclinedbrace-rods, 24, having their upper ends screw-threaded and passing through the lugs and secured by screw-nuts 25, for the purpose of steadying and bracing the gate-post and holding it securely in a perpendicular po- Sition.

The gate is composed of two series of hori-. zontal slats, pivoted, respectively, at their inner ends to the standards composing the gatepost, and at their outer ends pivoted, respectively, to upright bars 26. In the upper end of the gate-post is journaled a crankshaft, 27, sustained by a bracket, 28, secured to the post, and on the crank-shaft, between the post and the bracket, is mounted a Windlass or drum, 29, to which are connected the ends of chains or cords 30, the other ends of such chains or cords being secured to the lower end portions of the uprights at the outer ends of the slats composing the gate. By turning the crank-shaft, through the medium of its handles. in the proper direction, the chains or cords will be wound on the windlass or drum, and the outer ends of the gate be thereby elevated, so that the gate can be opened and closed with easeduringsnowy weather. When the outer ends of the gate are raised, as stated, the crank-shaft is locked by a locking-pin, 31, i'ord a rest for the crankhandle of the shaft, passed through a hole in the bracket, to afso that the gate can then be conveniently swung in either direction for the purpose of opening the gateway. A person on horseback can ride up to the gate, operate the crank-shaft, and lift the outer ends thereof, and thus swing the gate without inconvenience and without dismounting. If it becomes necessary to pass a vehicle or load through the gatesuch as a grain binder and harvester-which may be wider than the distance from the central gate-post to one of the outer ends of the gate, it is only necessary to withdraw the wedge from the center bolt or pin,when the entire gate and its rotary disk can be removed, thus opening the gateway from fence post to fence post.

For the purpose of automatically closing the gate after it has been opened, I arrange between the bearing-plate and the rotary disk astrong and substantial convoluted spring, 32, one end ofwhich is secured to the rotary disk and the other end to the bearing-plate in such manner that when the gate is opened the'rotary disk, acting as a lever, will place the spring under increased tension, and when the gate is released by the person after passing through the reaction of the spring will close the-gate by drawing the rotary disk back to its normal position. The spring is preferably located in the space between the two concentric flanges of the bearing-plate and the rotary disk. The bearing-plate is provided with a segmental slot, 33, for the passage of a bolt or pin to brace the gate and prevent its sagging when the gate is hinged at one end, as in the modification, Fig. 3. This construction admits of the gates being hinged centrally between its ends, as in Figs. 1 and 2, or being hinged upon one end, as in Fig. 3, through the medium of bearing-plates and rotary disks of the same construction.

As shown in Fig. 3, the bearing-plate 1, ro-

tary disk 10, and gate-posts l7 17 are all sub-.

stantially of the same construction as described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2.

V Between the end of the brace-rod secured to the bolt or pin 34 and the endiof the plate 19 secured to thepost a wedge, 37, is extended through a slot in the bolt, for the purpose of tightening the bolt or pin 34 and holding the rotary disk and bearingplate in close contact, to compensate for wear and to prevent loose play between the parts.

For the purpose of operating the gate with ease and facility I may employ friction-rollers 38 between the bearing-plate and the rotary disk, as shown in Fig. 8. These frictionrollers may be mounted in brackets and located in the spaces between the two concentric flanges 8 and 9 of the bearing-plate. Where this construction is used, the spring referred to will be located in the space between the inner concentric ring, 8, and the annular central flange, 7, of the bearing-plate.

-Heretofore a railway-gate has been Secured to a center post adapted to rotate in a step and provided with a spring connected with the stepand the post, combined with levers operated by a train, whereby the gate can be antomatically opened and closed. In another instance a gate has been composed of slats pivoted at one end to fence posts or bars and at the other end to vertical rails, so that the gates can be opened by swinging them in a vertical plane; and in another instance a gate has been composed of rails secured to a post, which at its lower end is attached to a bearing-plate adapted to rotate on a lower stationary bearing-plate. Such features are not, therefore, broadly claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is "1. The combination of the lower stationary bearing-plate having a central socket formed by an annular vertical flange, and provided at its outer edge with an annular flange,with the rotatable disk havinga central depending hub fitting the socket of the bearing-plate, a center bolt or pin for connecting the plate and disk, a gate'carrying post secured to the disk, and a spring located between the plate and disk, with one end connected with thebearing-plate and the other end connected with the rotary disk, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the lower stationary bearing-plate having a central socket formed by an annular vertical flange, and provided with an annular vertical flange at its outer edge, with the rotatable disk having a central depending hub fitting the socket of the bearing-plate, a center bolt or pin for connecting the plate and disk, and the gate mounted on the disk, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the lower stationary bearing-plate having a central socket formed by an annular vertical flange, and provided with an annular vertical flange at its outer edge, with the rotatable disk having a central depending hub fitting the socket of the bearing-plate, a headed center bolt or pin extending through the plate and disk and having a slot in its upper end, and a wedge extending through the slot, and a gate rigidly connected 'mounted on the disk, a shaftjournaled at the upper end of the post and having a winding drum or Windlass, the series of slats pivoted at one end to the gate-post and at the other end to an upright, and connections between the Windlass and the gate, substantially as described.

6. The combination of a lower stationary bearing-plate, arotatable disk mounted thereupon, a gate-post rigidly secured to said rotatable disk, two series of slats pivoted at their inner ends to the post and at their outer ends to uprights, a Windlass or drum at the upper end of the gate-post, and chains connecting the uprights with the Windlass or drum, substantially as described.

7. The combination of the stationary bearing-plate, the rotatable disk thereon, and a center bolt or pin connecting the plate and disk, with a gate-post rigidly secured to the disk, two series of slats pivoted at theirinner ends to the post and at their outer ends to uprights, a Windlass or drum at the upper end of the post, and chains or cords connecting the uprights with the Windlass or drum, substantially as described.

8. The combination of a lower stationary bearing-plate, a rotatabledisk mounted thereupon, a gate post rigidly secured to said rotatable disk, two series of slats pivoted at their inner ends to the post and at their outerends to uprights, acrankshaft journaled at the upper end of the post, a Windlass or drum on said shaft. and chains connecting the uprights with the Windlass or drum, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

J. N. YOUNG, J. A. ZEIGLER. 

